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Editorial Notes: Improving obesity warnings

Messages emphasizing prevalence are less effective

It is a serious error to focus on the prevalence of a negative behavior. - Tim Phillips

The following warnings are all too typical:

"The RSPCA, citing rampant pet obesity in the land down
under, is warning Australians to stop overfeeding their dogs
and cats," proclaimed The Guardian. "Overweight pets are at
greater risk of developing health problems such as diabetes,
mobility problems, difficulty breathing and increased pressures
on the heart. Overweight cats often develop skin problems from
not being able to groom properly."

"The latest in a recent flood of warnings about the obesity
of pets in Britain comes from pet insurer Saga Pet Insurance.
The company is warning Britain's animal lovers to monitor their
pets' weight following research that finds that a third of dogs
and one in 10 cats in the UK are clinically obese."

What's wrong with these warnings? Messages that point out
the prevalence of pet obesity are likely to be less effective
in preventing it.

Testing messages

Psychologist Robert B. Cialdini, in Current Directions in
Psychological Science (August 2003), offers evidence that it is
a serious error to focus on the prevalence of a negative
behavior. Instead, messages should focus on what is approved or
disapproved.

Cialdini gives an example from Arizona's Petrified Forest
National Park, which suffers from the estimated theft of more
than a ton of wood per month by visitors. He tested two
different signs:

Sign one: "Many past visitors have removed petrified wood
from the Park, changing the natural state of the Petrified
Forest."

Sign two: "Please don't remove the petrified wood from
the Park, in order to preserve the natural state of the
Petrified Forest."

As predicted, the first sign resulted in significantly more
theft than the second (7.92% vs. 1.67%).

The lesson

Within the statement, "many people are doing this
undesirable thing," lurks the powerful and undercutting
message, "many people are doing this."

How does Cialdini's work apply to pet obesity warnings? In
my opinion, petfood companies should not talk about how common
pet obesity is, but rather focus on how owners can determine if
their pets are overweight and give practical advice.
Acquainting owners with how to score their pets' body condition
is a good first step.

The American Animal Hospital Association 2000 Pet Owner
Survey reported that 17% of pet owners rated their pets as
overweight. Veterinarians estimate 44% of their patients are
overweight. This discrepancy illustrates pet owners' lack of
awareness of an appropriate body condition for their pets.
Without awareness, they do not take the necessary steps to
correct the problem.